Six miners died and six more are missing after the roof of a
shaft collapsed at a small coalmine in Lianyuan, a city in central
China's Hunan Province.
The accident occurred at around 1 PM on Sunday at Guanyin Coal
Mine of Anping Township, when 48 miners were working in the shaft.
Most of the bodies were recovered in a section where 15 miners had
been working, according to local rescue headquarters.
No more information was available on the fate of the missing
miners.
Guanyin Coal Mine is a township-administered venture capable of
producing 30,000 tons of coal annually but there have been
questions about the legality of its operation, said Liu Shidong,
director of Loudi City Coal Industry Bureau, who went to the mine
to direct rescue operations.
Apparently the mine's work safety license had been revoked
before the accident. The mine has been ordered to suspend
production.
(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2006)